Peer advocates supporting older people affected by cancer

Our Cancer, Older People and Advocacy programme would never have achieved what it has without our amazing volunteers. They’ve supported us as peer volunteer advocates as well as local and national cancer champions.

Those who have been directly affected by cancer themselves have determined to give something back, to support others going thorough the same trauma and to help ensure older people don’t face their cancer journey alone.

Some of their stories are told in Time: our gift to you, our most recent publication. Today, as Volunteers’ Week draws to a close for another year, we’d like to share Claire’s story with you:

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 and despite lots of treatment – chemotherapy, mastectomy, radiotherapy, reconstructive surgery and targeted drug therapies – I learnt in 2015 that my cancer had spread and I am now living with secondary breast cancer.

Last year, I decided to volunteer as a peer advocate in Oxfordshire because I could see at first hand, as I was going through my treatment, that there were many people who were struggling to find their way through the healthcare system in our area and to access the support they needed. It seemed obvious to me that a person who has been treated for cancer is potentially in a very strong position to support another person going through the same or similar treatment and experience.

One of the older people affected by cancer that I’ve supported is Sally (not her real name). She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and was referred to Oxfordshire Advocacy by her specialist breast nurse. Sally lives alone, struggles to get out and had become very isolated and depressed. When I first met her, she talked often about the diagnosis being the “final straw” and I recognised many of the feelings that I had felt when I was first diagnosed: anger, fear, sadness, even despair.

In the first few weeks when I visited Sally at her home, we often would just talk and share experiences and I know that she really appreciated that someone had taken the time to sit and listen and talk. I knew that when you are first diagnosed with cancer you do get quite a long appointment slot with your consultant and your specialist nurse, but you are in a state of shock and you can’t really take things in, and you are certainly not able to talk through how you are feeling. You need lots of time to process what is happening to you and it is weeks later when you are ready to really think about what is happening to you.

Since then, I have been able to help Sally in a number of ways. For example, I contacted Breast Cancer Care, I knew how good they were from my own experience, and ordered a number of information leaflets for her – some on treatments she had been advised to have, specific information on lymphedema and some on other issues such as her benefits entitlement. Sally suffers from cataracts as well and so I made sure I ordered the information in large print so that she could read the text.

Sally had a specific issue with one of her drugs that was making her feel unwell – I recognised the issue because I had suffered something similar – so I printed some information from the Macmillan Cancer Support website. Sally doesn’t have a computer or access to the internet. I took it to her and read it through for her. I also helped her prepare some questions about this for her next GP appointment and as a result she was able to discuss the issue with her doctor and get the drug changed to minimise the side effects.

Most recently I was able to help Sally with her application for a one-off Macmillan support grant – she wanted to use the money to help with her heating oil. She had being finding it difficult to fill in the form and so she dictated to me what she wanted to say in her application and I was able to write it down for her and I could use my experience to help with the spellings of all the drugs she was taking! She said that receiving the money was very important to her as it eased her worries about putting the heating on in the winter.

I hope that I have managed to convey that working with Sally has also been very rewarding for me. Cancer treatment is often quite technical and complicated and over time you are forced to become quite an expert in the healthcare system and how to get support. I am really glad to be able to put my experience to good use.

Our final thought this Volunteers’ Week is the adage: “Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless but because they are priceless.” So thank you to volunteers everywhere.

Kath Curley of Cancer, Older People and Advocacy delivery partner Beth Johnson Foundation and Staffs & Wolves Cancer Advocacy and Support Project Manager shares a post recently published on their own project blog. She tells us about her attendance at a recent conference marking Dying Matters Week:

Dying Matters Week in Staffordshire was celebrated by a Palliative and End of Life Conference organised by University Hospitals of North Midlands on Thursday 11th May. The Conference was entitled “I didn’t want that: Why patients’ wishes matter” and was attended by over 250 delegates from across the Midlands. BJF had a stand to promote the dementia and cancer advocacy projects and was therefore able to join the Conference.

The conference was packed

There were some eminent speakers including Dr Sara Russell, Head of Research and Clinical Innovation at Hospice UK, who showed a very thought provoking film from ZdoggMD; “Ain’t the way to die” which you can find here

Sara’s message was that professionals should be asking “What matters to you?” rather than “What’s the matter with you?”

Amanda Cheesley, Professional Lead Long Term Conditions and End of Life Care with the Royal College of Nursing followed on and very much reiterated Sarah’s messages. She opened by talking about the “essence” of the person – who we are, what we are – doesn’t go away when someone dies or is dying. We should look at what is important to people emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Jan Cooper, Regional Liaison Advisor at the General Medical Council discussed the End of Life/ Palliative Care Guidance. Decision making should be a partnership and this will require a change of culture. At one time professionals made the decisions, then it swung to patients making the decision but it should be co-production – joint decision after listening, discussing and sharing information.

After lunch there were two more “professionals “ presentations from Claire Henry – the Chief Executive Officer of the National Council for Palliative Care and Dr Katherine Bristowe , a post-doctoral researcher at the Cicely Saunders Institute, Kings College, London. She has a particular interest in widening access to palliative care, and recently worked on the ACCESSCare project (funded by Marie Curie), a national qualitative interview study of LGBT people facing advanced illness and bereavement.

At this Conference the best was most definitely left until the end. The Conference closed with a presentation from Tommy Whitelaw, Project Engagement Lead for Dementia Carer Voices. He was a carer for his late mother Joan for 5 years as she had vascular dementia. He told us about his beautiful mother, Joan Whitelaw, NOT the disruptive lady in bed 6! He talked about his experiences with health professionals during his time as a carer and the importance of reassuring carers that they are doing a wonderful job.

Tommy travels across Scotland to raise awareness of the impact of dementia on families and the importance of empowering carers to carry out their difficult but vital role. Lessons to be learnt for people caring for someone with any terminal condition. There was not a dry eye in the Conference!

Joe Potts, Macmillan End of Life Care Facilitator, University Hospitals of North Midlands is to be congratulated on a stimulating, thought provoking conference – a job really well done.

The working group argues that ‘currently there is a negative cycle in cancer care, where a short-term approach leads to rising costs in cancer, makes fewer resources available, provides inadequate patient support which re-enforces the need for a short-term ‘just managing’ approach.’ It proposes ways to break the negative cycle.

To address this challenge, The Patients Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb are working alongside experts and patients from across the cancer space to identify new models of service delivery, showcase best practice, and provide real improvements in patient care.

The report discussion includes sections and recommendations on:
Identifying, incentivising and implementing best practice
Developing effective prevention strategies
Implementing best practice in the early diagnosis of cancer
Delivering timely access to treatment
Engaging patients in delivering innovative care pathways

To my mind the report blurs the issue of patient engagement and involvement in service improvement and that of individual patients who are ‘engaged’ and active in their own healthcare journey. Both are important and worthwhile while distinct from each other.

I think that the argument for ‘engaging patients in delivering innovative care pathways’ reads like a explanation of the benefits of independent advocacy support:

‘Educating patients with cancer about self-management and empowering them to play an active role in the decision-making process was considered to likely result in an improvement of patients’ knowledge, understanding of their condition, adherence to treatment and engagement in their healthcare. Whilst not all patients will want to play an active role in their treatment and care, it is important to provide patients with the opportunity and the choice to make their preferences clear and also tell us what a “good” treatment outcome looks like for them.

‘The Working Group described these users as “activated patients” who can lead the charge for the adoption of best practice care. According to Working Group attendees, the evidence suggests that “activated” and informed patients use an average of 20% fewer resources than less informed counterparts.’

Advocacy support is unfortunately still relatively unknown and it is not uncommon to read policy reports in both health and social care spheres that appear to describe it and recommend it without ever using the term. I believe that independent advocacy support and particularly that provided by peer volunteer advocates has a role to play in breaking the negative cycle of cancer care. It can certainly be preventative and facilitate timely access to treatment in addition to empowering patients. I would like to see it recognised as an integral part of the cancer care pathway, recognised as best practice and implemented nationally.

Kath Parson, OPAAL Chief Executive, tells us about her exciting night at the UK Blog Awards:

It began 24 hours beforehand wondering what to wear of course! The invitation said formal so long dress with all the trimmings, shoes, bag and jewellery to match.

Enjoying the evening

The event took place at the Westminster Park Plaza London in the shadow of Big Ben. I knew it would be a special night as the paparazzi were out in force clicking away at every gorgeous girl alighting from the fleet of taxi’s lining the entrance.

Once divested of coats we were directed to the huge ballroom three floors below street level. My first surprise the sheer number of people, around 500 guests mingling and networking amongst the many attractions provided by headline sponsors The Odeon. The second surprise was the average age of the guests, I definitely felt like an old lady as most people were in their late twenties early thirties. No doubt a reflection of those who drive social media today. I met many fantastic and inspiring people all keen to learn about our blog. I’m sure I’ll stay in touch with several.

The event was sponsored by Odeon

Wonderful hospitality, we were wined and dined like kings. Then came the main business of the event, the awards ceremony itself.

Opened by Gemma Newton, CEO, UK Blog Awards, Chrissie King, Online Influencer and Charly Lester, Head Judge we were told there were 2,400 entries, and 94,000 public votes. Entries were whittled down to a short list of 240 all read by no less than 42 judges across the dozen of more categories. For each category there were individual and company winners.

We were in the Health & Social Care category company section and up against stiff competition, seven amazing blogs all doing a wonderful job informing and supporting their constituency audiences.

We were in the Health & Social Care category company section

We didn’t win, but then I had not expected to. I am just so very proud of our partners and OPAAL staff that we had reached the final’s stage at all. We would not have a blog if the older people we support and our wonderful dedicated volunteers had not agreed to share their many inspiring stories with us, so my sincere thanks to all of you.

The winner in our category was Mentalmovement

I reserve a special mention for our Operations Manager Marie McWilliams who tirelessly manages our blog, well done Marie you can feel very proud of this achievement.

Finally I’d like to thank all those people that voted for us, without you we would not have reached the final. I’m already looking forward to UK Blog Awards 2018, so please keep those stories coming in.

Congratulations and well done to our cancer advocacy delivery partners who have achieved the OPAAL Quality Standards for the provision of advocacy support for older people affected by cancer. Today we find out more from Macmillan Brighton and Hove Impetus:

“Special thanks to Rebecca Turnull-Simpson, a local lawyer and one of our dedicated volunteer cancer advocates. Her time given to the quality mark audit process has enabled the hard work of our whole fantastic team to be recognised.” So says Sam Bond, Macmillan Impetus Cancer Advocacy Service Manager.

Impetus staff and volunteers with their Quality Standards certificate

The first quality mark achieved was the Advocacy Quality Performance Mark which is a national quality assessment and assurance system for providers of independent advocacy. Impetus achieved it in September 2016.

Quality standards have been awarded for the provision of specialist advocacy support for people affected by cancer. These standards set out what clients can expect and are a way of demonstrating professionalism and commitment in independent cancer advocacy service delivery. The service puts the interests of clients first, is safe and effective and promotes trust through a professional and person centred approach.

Macmillan Impetus Cancer Advocacy service is a free service funded by Macmillan. The service is provided by Brighton & Hove Impetus – a charity working to reduce isolation and improve well-being. We provide 1:1 support to people affected by cancer who are often facing challenging life situations. The service supports them to express their needs and have increased choice and control.

Do you know someone who is affected by cancer or who has a close family member affected by cancer? Impetus can provide a trained advocate who will visit them at home or in hospital, build a relationship of trust and find out what is important to them.Do you want to become a volunteer Cancer Advocate?

Today Kathleen Gillett of Dorset Macmillan Advocacy considers the barriers preventing older people affected by cancer accessing the help they need:

We explore the physical, emotional and attitudinal barriers that older people may face to speaking up for themselves in a case study about ‘Stan’ during our volunteer induction. In the case study Stan is given his cancer diagnosis and goes home alone without being offered any further sources of support or information. Stan’s story is part of the OPAAL Cancer, Older People and Advocacy national training pack for peer volunteer advocates. Stan is an archetype but in considering his story we put ourselves in the shoes of an older person facing cancer alone.At our most recent meeting for practising advocates we also considered a case study, this time a real one. Jo Lee, Senior Advocate and Coordinator, outlined the situation of advocacy partner ‘Kevin’. Kevin had got in touch with Dorset Macmillan Advocacy himself after seeing a Macmillan TV advert and then searching the internet for local support. Jo gave a brief overview of Kevin’s medical history, the advocacy issues that he identified at the first assessment and the issues that subsequently presented or were identified by her during that assessment.

A discussion ensued about potential courses of action and then Jo explained what had actually happened. The ethos of our service meant we were guided by the wishes of the advocacy partner at all times. There was a successful outcome in our having swiftly obtaining a grant and arranging the electrical upgrade and shower installation. There remained other ongoing and unresolved issues. At this point Jo ‘unmasked’ the volunteer advocate who was partnered with Kevin and we were able to question him more deeply.

Flip chart images from training

Why had Kevin become disengaged from his healthcare team and been missing his outpatient appointments?

Kevin had longstanding depression, he lived alone with no family in the UK. He was no longer employed owing to an alcohol problem which might have been linked to pressure at work. His lifestyle meant that he would often watch TV all night and sleep most of the day. Effects of surgery meant that it was extremely difficult for him to make himself understood on the telephone. Fatigue was affecting his mobility and he found public transport to attend appointments very inconvenient. His nutrition was not as good as it could be and he had continuing pain.

The outpatient appointments that Kevin was sent were invariably early in the morning. Kevin had his letters well organised in a file and knew when the appointments were but did not get up in time to go. Kevin was in contact with his GP surgery but always seemed to be seen by a different doctor so did not experience any continuity in his primary care.

So we discovered a complex interplay of practical, physical and mental factors affecting Kevin’s ‘patient experience’ and his ability to benefit from the healthcare on offer.

Kevin and his advocate enjoyed an afternoon visit to the seaside once the initial issues were resolved. It was a rare outing from the flat that was not about medical appointments for Kevin and an opportunity to get to know Kevin as a person for his advocate. The partnership continues and steps are being taken to investigate Kevin’s ongoing pain issues.

Health professionals are dependent upon patients engaging with them. The barriers to engagement that patients have will sometimes be outside of the scope of their role. Kevin’s advocate has worked with him to resolve the issue that was concerning him most, has coordinated his care in and outside hospital and paved the way for him to reengage with his healthcare team.

The volunteers who have shared their stories in Time: Our Gift to You come from all walks of life but I felt it was significant that several were retired Health or Social Care Professionals. I wanted to know more about what motivates them to train as an advocate so I asked Mike Goodman, a newly retired Clinical Nurse Specialist who joined Dorset Macmillan Advocacy last year, why he volunteers and what he feels former Health Professionals in particular can bring to the role. Kathleen Gillett, Coordinator, Dorset Macmillan Advocacy

‘I was interested in becoming an advocate because, despite being retired, I still have an interest in helping people live with and recover from a diagnosis of cancer. After many years as a health professional you do build up a wealth of expertise and numerous medical contacts which it seems a waste to suddenly abandon just because you retire. The transition from professional to volunteer is a tricky one and it can be rather easy to slip back into a formal or professional approach to a situation rather than acting and speaking as a lay person – or simply imagining being the patient. However empathetic professionals think they are, because they have been trained/educated and because they are busy they quickly slip into “professional” mode and forget just what it is like being a confused, slightly scared, often lonely recipient of health care services.

Mike Goodman

I am sure advocates can be effective whether they have been cancer patients themselves, or have been the carer of someone with cancer or have been health care professionals. All those experiences will enable you to be a help and support. They would all bring different skills and abilities to the many and varied problems that the cancer partner is grappling with. Probably the greatest skill lies with the Macmillan Senior Advocate or Volunteer Coordinator in choosing which advocate to link up with each new partner.

Health Care professionals do have the ability to understand how the wheels turn in a hospital department or what a GP really needs to know in order to change the experience for a patient who is in a crisis. They will understand that it is hard to get something done on a Friday afternoon when most departments in a hospital are winding down for the weekend or that a referral between teams will have to go through an MDT meeting before a decision is made. Explaining that there is no simple blood test or screening process for some cancers comes as a shock to some people in the community who are reading the tabloids and grasping at every tiny news item that has the word cancer in its headline.

Retired professionals can play an important role in advocacy but, at the end of the day, it is that human touch, that word of encouragement, that listening ear that every person affected by cancer needs and wants and that is a role that every advocate seeks to fulfil.’

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We've published "Every Step of the Way": 13 stories illustrating the difference that independent advocacy makes to older people affected by cancer and "Facing Cancer Together": demonstrating the power of independent advocacy.

You can find and download pdf's via the "About Us" page. You can click on "About Us" on the top right of this page. Alternatively you can order hard copies free from Macmillan Cancer Support by following the same link as above.

We've now also published "Time: our gift to you", 19 volunteers' stories from some of our peer advocates and cancer champions. It can also be downloaded via the "About Us" page on the top right of this page.